


not directed at me

by yeswayappianway



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Columbus Blue Jackets, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 00:58:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10263374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/pseuds/yeswayappianway
Summary: Between desperately trying not to have a ridiculous crush on his linemate and his linemate’s boyfriend and strongly not thinking about the win streak the team was on, Brandon felt like he was spending a lot of time staring intently out windows.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (title from Two Day High, by Sugar + The Hi Lows)
> 
> this is for lily, who gets credit for the plot and several specific moments, since she talked about it and then yelled that none of the people who liked the tweet were writing it. so i wrote it. hopefully.

Look, just because Brandon didn’t know what a sloth was didn’t mean he’s an idiot. Or, well, it wasn’t relevant to this situation anyway. And honestly, it’s not like Bill and Wenny were subtle. Even Sedsy had noticed how they were around each other, and he always seemed a little overwhelmed with, like, life.

The point was, Bill and Wenny were together. And Brandon was happy for them. They were adorable together, and they seemed to treat each other well, and it had never seemed to mess with the team, so there wasn’t anything to disapprove of. He was quietly relieved that the team seemed totally ok with it. When he’d first gotten to Columbus, he wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, and he’d been hesitant to ask anyone in case it wasn’t well received. That had been cleared up the first time Bill got fined for cooing at Wenny in Swedish. Brandon probably shouldn’t be surprised that everyone was totally fine with two of their teammates dating, since it meant they got to collect double fines from them. It was nice to know the team had their backs about it.

No, the problem is that sometimes they’d be at a team breakfast and Brandon would glance over at Alex and suddenly it would be almost a minute later and, luckily, he hadn’t gotten caught so far. Or Wenny would crash into him after a goal, and all he could think about was how it would feel to hold him off the ice. It wasn’t something he spent a lot of time actively thinking about. Brandon didn’t want to be a homewrecker or anything, but it was hard enough to ignore how ridiculously attractive Wenny was. Once he started getting distracted by Bill’s smile as well, he realized that he needed to put some effort into getting over this whole… thing, before it turned into actual feelings.

It would have been a lot easier if their line, and Wenny especially, hadn’t been playing so well. Brandon didn’t want to think about their record too hard, but it was impossible to ignore the mood in the room. Bob was smiling and happy (not that it was hard to be happier than a year ago, but the difference was huge), even guys like Jack and Boone were joking around all the time, and Cam seemed to have made it his goal to start as many dance parties as possible. Brandon loved it, but he wasn’t usually up for being in the middle of the chaos, and whenever he looked around the room, it seemed like Alex was right there, looking right back. He had this way of- well, smirking was probably the best word for it, but it never seemed like he was laughing at Brandon. It was saying, “Aren’t they ridiculous?” and “Aren’t you glad you’re here?” at the same time, and yeah. Yeah, he was.

Anyway, between desperately trying not to have a ridiculous crush on his linemate and his linemate’s boyfriend and strongly not thinking about the win streak the team was on, Brandon felt like he was spending a lot of time staring intently out windows. And at walls. But he wasn’t sure what else to do about it, so he figured he might want to find a hobby or something.

\----

In his ongoing quest to get over Alex and Bill, Brandon had forgotten that his Player’s Tribune article was going to actually get published at some point. Unfortunately, his teammates picked up on it right away.

“Hey Saader, didn’t know you were such a writer!” Brandon looked up to see Cam waving his phone around. Before he could ask what the hell he was talking about, the rest of the team joined in.

“Yeah, come on man, you gotta tell us this shit!” “Even from you, can’t get away from the fucking Penguins ever.” “ ‘thought I’d go earlier in the draft’ big words there, kid.” “How come only Wenny gets a shout out?” “Hey, he talked about me too! And Jonesy!” As the room devolved into chirping Zach, Brandon remembered the article.

“Fuck off, you know they rewrite those things. I didn’t really write it.”

“So you didn’t say Wenny is ‘soft-spoken and has a killer instinct on the ice’?” Fligs had stolen Cam’s phone, which obviously had the article pulled up on the screen, and looked up from it to waggle his eyebrows at Brandon.

Brandon had never been more glad that he doesn’t blush very obviously. “I mean, I didn’t- like, I said something-” but before he could explain himself into total embarrassment, Alex himself spoke up.

“Well, it’s not like that’s not true,” and as a few people threw things at him, Alex looked at Brandon with an unreadable expression. Did Alex want to spare him trying to come up with a bullshit explanation? Had he noticed how much attention Brandon paid to him, how flustered he got occasionally? Brandon didn’t want to think about it for too long since he knew it would be uncomfortable to actually think about his feelings. Either way, he needed to be more careful. If he couldn’t get over this thing for Alex, he at least needed to be less obvious.

\----

“What’re you thinking about so hard?”

Shit. Brandon mentally lifted his eyes to the sky, hoping he could come up with something other than ‘how much I’d really like to make out with you and your boyfriend’. Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, he turned to Bill, who was looking at him from across the aisle of the plane. He shrugged.

“How glad I am I don’t live in Winnipeg.” Well. It could have been worse.

Bill laughed. “Why, because Columbus is so much more exciting?”

“I don’t care about exciting, mostly about not freezing everytime I go outside.” Brandon didn’t mind the cold, he played hockey, but Winnipeg was miserable. Leaving, especially with a win, always felt like triumphantly returning from an Antarctic expedition or something (unless you had to go to Alberta afterwards, which was just cruel.)

Bill frowned a little. “So you don’t miss being able to go do all the things you could in Chicago?”

Brandon honestly tried not to think about Chicago at this point. There were a lot of conflicting feelings there, and it was easier to ignore them. But he knew a lot of people wouldn’t handle losing the big city feel well. “Not really. I never really cared a lot about going out a lot or anything. I just did what other guys on the team were doing, mostly.”

Gesturing at Alex, who was asleep in the seat next to him, Bill said, “So Alex was right. He said you seemed happy with things being quiet.” Brandon wondered why he had been the topic of conversation when Bill kept speaking. “So I guess you wouldn’t want to come with us next time we go out.”

Swallowing heavily, Brandon tried to keep his voice normal. “Nah, I think I’ll pass this time. Thanks for the offer,” and he leaned back in his seat, trying not to look back over at them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bill studying him before he turned and leaned over towards Alex. Brandon sighed internally. If Alex and Bill could just be a little less inviting, this would be a lot easier.

\----

The morning of their game in Minnesota, Fligs dragged them out for a ‘liney lunch’ because Nick wasn't content with being an actual dad, but had to try and parent everyone on the team. Not that Brandon minded, but he expected it more from people who needed surrogate kids, not guys who actually had them. Alex only offered up a token argument about it being Minnesota, so “it’s not like there’s actually anything good here.” Regardless, Brandon found himself in a cozy diner that seemed to be full of good-natured Midwestern stereotypes. He wondered how long you had to live in the Midwest before it counted, because Fligs seemed to fit right in.

Alex must have been thinking along the same lines, because as they were sitting down, he asked, “So, how do you have a go-to restaurant in Minnesota? Or did you just think you saw your long-lost brother in here?” Alex nodded toward the table beside them.

“That guy doesn’t look anything like me, he just has a beard!” Fligs protested.

Brandon looked around Alex at the bearded man. “I don’t know, looks about right to me. Look at his nose, practically identical. I mean, the eyes aren’t quite right…”

“Oh, this is the thanks I get for taking you two out to lunch? Next time, I’ll just leave you in the hotel!” Nick glared at Brandon and Alex as they laughed.

Just then, the waiter came over to take their orders, interrupting them. Afterwards, the three men sat back for a minute. Fligs was the first to speak.

“I don’t really have anything specific to say, I just figured we had time, and it’s New Year’s Eve, and we’re playing really fucking well, so,” he shrugged, “why not get lunch?”

Alex lifted his glass of water toward the middle of the table. “Cheers.” As Brandon raised his own, it was hard not to think about the difference from last year. Last December, he still hadn’t figured out how he fit in with the guys, and the mood of the team couldn’t have been more different. Now, he felt more settled off the ice, he wasn’t going to argue with the on-ice results, and he was even used to hearing Columbus when they flew home. It was a nice feeling. 

Nick spoke up again. “Plus, we gotta make Wenny feel appreciated. First multi-goal game! If we knew all it took was someone writing nice things about you online, I would have gotten everyone in on it. Or is it only when Saader does it?” It almost looked like Alex was blushing, but Brandon was pretty sure Alex didn’t do anything that unpolished.

“Ah, well, you know. It was a good game.” Alex seemed to be trying not to actually grin. “Wouldn’t mind having some more of those.”

Brandon snorted. “Yeah, I think the rest of us wouldn’t mind you doing that either. I’m not giving you compliments on the internet before every game, though.” Because they’d stop being about your hockey real quickly, he mentally added.

“Aw, Saader, you don’t want to say nice things about me?” Now Alex was teasing. Brandon had managed to get through most of the conversation without thinking too much about how golden Alex’s hair looked in the sunlight coming through the window, but now that he had Alex pouting directly at him, it was impossible to ignore how good he looked. Luckily, Fligs wanted to show them new pictures of kids, and Brandon managed to escape that topic once more.

\----

“FUCKING FIFTEEN!” It sounded like Andy was the one yelling, but honestly it could have been anyone. Before this game, everyone had been trying so hard to not talk about the streak. Brandon had honestly thought he’d been making things up when he heard Torts say to enjoy the feeling, but now that’d they’d beaten the Wild, he felt like he could believe anything. They had been buzzing since they left the ice, and even now that they’d made it onto the plane, no one seemed to be in a hurry to calm down.

“Pretty good way to spend a New Year’s Eve, right?” Alex was grinning, which actually looked surprisingly goofy. Brandon wondered if that’s why he usually stuck to smirking.

“Fuck yeah it is.” Brandon swung himself into a seat, and instead of taking the one across the aisle, Alex shuffled past him to take the window seat. Brandon tried to wonder why Alex was sitting with him, but kept getting distracted by the feeling of having Alex practically in his lap for a second. He’d nearly gotten his brain together enough to ask when Bill got to them and did a double take at Brandon’s new seatmate.

“What, do you not like me tonight?” He pouted at Brandon and Alex. Brandon opened his mouth to stammer out an apology, but Alex got there first.

“Saader had two assists tonight, he deserves a reward.” Brandon did the best he could to try and keep his face totally blank. Hearing that come out of Alex’s mouth was enough to inspire weeks of fantasies, if he was being honest.

Bill glared exaggeratedly at Brandon, but the smile on his face ruined any chance he had at seeming sincere. “Well, I’m just going to have to do better next game, and win Alex back. You can’t keep him!”

“Aw, trouble in paradise?” Gags was walking past them and had clearly noticed the new seating arrangement. “Saader, don’t be a homewrecker, it’s not nice.”

“I’m not doing anything! They’re happening to me!” Brandon tried to protest, but Gags just sighed and patted Bill’s shoulder sympathetically. “It’s ok, buddy, Alex will realize his mistake soon.” A few other guys had obviously heard Gags, because Bill got a few more shoulder pats as people went by, and Cam added, “We still love you, Bill!” Brandon sank down in his seat as Alex laughed and Bill tried to look sad.

As Brandon tried to settle back into his seat normally, he was suddenly conscious of the fact that Alex was sitting right next to him. Usually, he just fidgeted around until he was comfortable but he found himself unable to relax, paying too much attention to how close his knee was to Alex’s, whether he was angled toward him. Somehow, he managed to turn toward the aisle slightly, and even with the noise from the team, Brandon found himself nodding off.

\----

Sometime later, Brandon opened his eyes. Hearing the noise around him, he knew why he had woken up. Everyone was counting down and he realized blurrily that it must be almost midnight. As the countdown reached twenty, he shook his head a little and stretched, sitting up. Alex was still sitting with him, although he seemed to be having a silent conversation with Bill. He turned though, looking at Brandon.

“We thought you might manage to sleep through this, somehow.” Bill said, the words nearly getting lost in the yelling.

Brandon shook his head. “Nope, not that good yet. Maybe someday.”

Instead of responding, Bill joined in as the chanting got to ten, and Brandon couldn’t help but count along himself. “Five! Four! Three! Two! ONE!” As everyone made noise, Alex and Bill both turned to Brandon.

“Happy new year,” Alex said quietly, and he leaned in to give Brandon a kiss on the cheek. Before Brandon could really process what was happening, there was a flash. Bill had taken a picture of the two of them and was smiling at the screen. “It’s cute,” he proclaimed.

Brandon wasn’t sure how to feel. He restrained himself from putting his hand up to where Alex’s mouth had been, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss for the rest of their plane ride. His first thought was a pity kiss, maybe Alex had been feeling bad that Brandon didn’t have his own person to kiss at midnight, or maybe they thought he was feeling left out. But it hadn’t seemed like that, if Brandon was honest with himself, especially when Bill took a picture of them. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if maybe he wasn’t completely alone in his feelings.

\----

They had New Year’s Day off, so Brandon spent the day relaxing away from the team. As much as he loved the guys, sometimes he just needed a break from being around people. Unfortunately, that left his mind free to circle back to Alex’s New Year’s kiss. The last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble between Bill and Alex (Gags’s homewrecker comment kept playing in his head, no matter how clearly Brandon knew it was a joke), but he couldn’t get the moment out of his head. Brandon had been trying (and admittedly failing) for so long to ignore any feelings he might have and not stare at Alex, what if he had been missing actual interest on Alex’s end? On the other hand, Alex was happy with Bill, and everyone knew it, so why the hell would he even be looking at Brandon? He was almost desperate enough to consider trying to ask someone else about it, even if it did make him feel like he was back in middle school, but as he thought about who to ask, his phone chirped.

_from: Bill | 3:14 p.m.  
hey do u want to get lunch tomorrow?_

Brandon’s stomach dropped. He knows, he thought wildly, somehow he knows I’m into his boyfriend and I’m thinking about it right now. Brandon was rationally sure there were other reasons Bill might want to have lunch with one of his teammates but nothing else was coming to him. It was like his brain was blank except a big flashing WARNING: DANGER sign. Maybe if he agreed, Bill would tell him more, and he could get back to being a functioning human being.

_to: Bill | 3:15 p.m.  
yeah sure!_

Brandon stared at his phone for a few minutes, but nothing showed up. He threw at the other end of the couch in frustration. If Bill wasn’t even going to answer him, why had he even said yes? He sighed, putting his face in his hands. Bill’s a teammate and a good guy, Brandon told himself, and even if it’s awkward, it’s better to work it out over lunch. Or you could just never speak to him again, a voice in the back of his mind suggested. Brandon groaned and stretched out on the couch. Being unconscious sounded really good.

\----

The next morning, Brandon was once again applying the same philosophy. The longer he laid in bed drifting in and out of sleep, the less time he had to work himself up about getting lunch with Bill. Which worked well enough until his phone chirped again. He rolled across the bed to grab it off his dresser, and when he saw who it was, he nearly dropped it.

_from: Bill | 10:52 a.m.  
oh also can u drive? thanks ur great!_

Brandon rolled his eyes, because really, when was Bill going to stop acting like he didn’t just bum rides off of literally everyone else. Of course, his next thought was closer to ‘oh my god, I’m gonna die of embarrassment and then I’m gonna be stuck in the car with him oh no what have I gotten myself into oh no.’ So much for not thinking about it ahead of time. He stared at the ceiling for a while. How bad could it be, right? Brandon sighed, and answered Bill before slowly dragging himself out of bed.

_to: Bill | 10:58 a.m.  
sure, ill be there @ noon_

After spending an embarrassing amount of time deciding what to wear, Brandon made it out to his car, and headed over to Bill’s apartment. Pulling in front of the building, he grabbed his phone to let Bill know he was there, but Bill knocked on the window of his car just as Brandon was about to send the text. He unlocked the door and Bill slid into the passenger seat.

“Hi! How are you?”

Brandon shrugged, since he figured that was more acceptable than ‘dying of anxiety’. “Not bad. Where are we going?”

Instead of naming a restaurant, Bill started giving directions. Brandon followed them, but with every turn, he was more convinced Bill was directing him to, like, an intervention. Or maybe Bill had a secret serial killer side, and Brandon was just going to disappear. He dismissed that idea, because he was pretty sure Bill wouldn’t fuck with the Jackets like that.

Bill’s directions did actually lead them to a restaurant, which marginally reassured him. Brandon managed to find parking on the same block, so the walk was short enough he felt like he could get away with not saying anything. As a hostess led them to a table near the back of the restaurant, Brandon stared at the back of Bill’s head, not really seeing anything else. This was going to go horribly wrong, he was sure. Playing on the team was gonna suck once Wenny and Bill hated him, and it would probably make road trips shit as well. He figured Alex would do ok keeping it off the ice, but it was going to be hard, especially if anyone else on the team found out. Brandon realized they’d already sat down, and a waiter was asking for his order. He hadn’t even looked at the menu, or actually he hadn’t seen what he was looking at, so he asked if they had any specials and got the first one the waiter rattled off without ever really hearing what the woman had said it was. Once she left, Brandon stared at the table. Bill made a little noise in his throat, not quite clearing it.

“So.” Bill sounded serious. “You’re pretty into Alex, aren’t you?”

Brandon’s heart stopped. He started stuttering, “I would never do anything, I’m sorry- look, you know I’m trying- I’m not, I promise-” but Bill cut him off.

“No, I get it. It’s hard to pay attention to anyone else, sometimes, right?” Bill nudged him under the table, and Brandon finally looked up. Bill didn’t look mad at all. Actually he looked… like he had an idea, maybe. A bit like when he finally came up with a prank to try and get back at Cam, but also kind of like how he looked at Alex when no one was looking (except Brandon, because Brandon was looking at Alex more often than not, if he was being honest). Brandon didn’t know what to make of it, but before he could ask where Bill was going with this, Bill went on.

“Like I said, I get it. Maybe you could join us sometime? Alex likes you, too, and I think it could be fun,” he said, a bit softer than he had before, and looking maybe as serious as Brandon had ever seen him outside of a game. Brandon opened his mouth to say- something, anything, but he closed it again. Had he really just heard that? Bill’s face froze a little, and he started talking again.

“I mean, I know maybe you aren’t into me that way, and that’s, that’s okay-” and that’s when Brandon found his voice again, because he suddenly realized that this wasn’t nerve-wracking for just him.

“No, no, that’s- that’s really not it, Bill, you’re great and you and Alex together are… a lot, and have you looked at yourself lately, it’s not like you’re not part of that, and um. Yes, please, if that was a real offer and you’re ok with it, yes. But…” and Brandon paused to take a breath, steeling himself for the next part. “Like. Is this… a one time offer?” Brandon was afraid he’d say something even stupider if he kept talking, but he didn’t think he’d be able to handle being with them once and never again. Bill looked seriously back at him and Brandon felt like he was being evaluated, like he was back at the draft combine all over again, maybe.

“We’ll have to talk to Alex first, but I don’t think it will be just one time,” Bill said, and then he smiled bashfully, and looked down just in time for their food to get there. Brandon was glad the food had taken a while, because if it had come earlier, he wouldn’t have even tasted it, probably. Now he actually could relax a little and notice what he was eating. They still both ate quickly, paying and leaving the restaurant without talking about anything else important. 

They made it back to the car and climbed in, and as Brandon was seesawing his car out of the parking spot, he realized something Bill had said earlier.

“Wait, if you have to talk to Alex first, does that mean he doesn’t know you’re doing this?”

Bill waved his hand a little dismissively. “Mm, I told him I was getting lunch with you, he’s probably got some idea. But we haven’t really talked about this, other than one time while he was fucking me.”

Brandon nearly slammed on the brakes and made an inarticulate yelling noise. “You can’t just say that, what if I crashed? Jesus, Bill.” Bill laughed at him for the rest of the short drive back to his apartment.

When Brandon pulled up in front of the apartment building again, Bill asked if he wanted to come in.

“No, I need to go home and,” he debated saying anything, but Brandon figured he probably couldn’t get any worse than his stream of babbling earlier. “Freak out in private. Thanks, though. But can you tell Alex that we talked and let me know how he responds?” Bill nodded and held up his phone, waving it around like that actually did anything.

“Thanks for driving,” Bill said brightly, and with that, he went inside.

Brandon made it home by not thinking about what Bill had said- “one time while he was fucking me” -and once he got inside his house, he collapsed onto his couch. Before he really had a chance to think about what had happened, his phone vibrated in his pocket. When he pulled it out, he saw that Bill had started a new group message with him and Alex. His heart sped up at the first message (“of course im ok with it” and a string of emojis from Alex) and Brandon let himself get wrapped up in texting them, relaxing into the couch and smiling that maybe this would all work out better than he could have expected.

\----

Brandon had been worried about the next time seeing Alex and Bill in person at the same time after talking about having a threesome with them, but as it turned out, he didn’t need to worry about it. It seemed like every minute was filled with someone new asking about the win streak, or hearing someone else talk about it (and wasn’t that a nice fucking change, hearing people around the city just talking about how good the team was, unprompted?). Brandon was dying for the game to start, just so he could stop answering questions about the streak. He didn’t think he’d ever heard someone so excited to get asked a question about how to stop Connor McDavid as Jonesy was, but if it meant not talking about the “potentially historic win streak”, Brandon didn’t blame him at all.

And then the game finally did start, and then it ended, and they had won. Sixteen fucking games in a row. Brandon wanted to pinch himself. Fligs actually did ask Cam to pinch him, and when Cam did, he let out a whoop. “That’s right, boys! Sixteen! It’s real!” Bob was beaming in his stall. Brandon’s post-win reaction usually leaned more toward contented happiness than the manic energy some guys got, but this was different. He’d assisted on the game winner, which, even better, had been Bill’s first ever power play goal, and he wanted to do something. He met Alex’s eyes across the room, as he’d gotten used to, but this time Alex wasn’t smirking exactly. He was staring intensely at Brandon and then, at the same time, they looked over at Bill. He looked up, met first Brandon’s eyes, then Alex’s, and Brandon knew there wasn’t going to be any more discussion. They were doing this tonight and Brandon’s nerves were still there from earlier, but fuck that. They’d won sixteen straight games, they’d been part of the team, part of the effort, and they’d done that, and fuck if they weren’t going to do this too.

After they’d all showered and changed, Alex walked straight over to Brandon, slung an arm over his shoulder, and said, low, into his ear, “So, you wanna come back to our place?”

Brandon shivered at the contact but also raised his eyebrows at Alex. “I literally already agreed to this, why are you trying to be smooth about it?”

Bill snorted as he heard Brandon’s question, and explained, “Alex likes to think he’s smooth when he isn’t, but he’s very pretty so we put up with it.” Alex’s ensuing reaction was definitely pouting, and Brandon thought maybe he should be chirping him about it, but it was a very attractive pout and Brandon was still hearing Bill’s use of “we” over and over in his head, so he let it slide.

In what Brandon was already sensing might become a pattern, Bill and Alex convinced Brandon to drive them all to their apartment. Not that much convincing was needed, especially once they got in sight of the car, and Bill immediately called shotgun and turned around to flip Alex off when he started pouting again. Brandon laughed as they all climbed into his car. Yes, he was nervous about hooking up with two really hot guys who were already happily together, but at the same time, they were just his dumbass teammates who told terrible jokes and always wanted everyone else to drive them places. 

As they got out of the car at Alex’s apartment building (they had explained that Alex had a nicer bed, so they spent most nights there, but apparently Bill’s had better windows, which seemed to be the source of an ongoing argument), Brandon nudged Bill with his shoulder. “So, are you gonna keep asking me for rides everywhere? Because like, you’re great, man, but that seems like a lot of work for me…”

Bill frowned exaggeratedly and pushed him into Alex. “I’m not the only one asking for rides, Saader! Why don’t you ask Alex the same thing?” Brandon turned a bit to look at Alex, who was raising his arms.

“Hey, I only asked once so far. And it was obviously more efficient this way.” Alex smirked as Brandon looked up to the sky- well, the ceiling- for help.

“Is this how everything’s gonna be with you two?” They looked at each other and nodded.

“Yep, probably.” “Definitely.” The two Swedes didn’t answer at exactly the same time, but it was close. Brandon huffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest, speeding up a little.

“I can’t believe I was excited about this.” But he only kept up the annoyance for a few seconds before laughing as Bill and Alex caught up with him, with equally dismayed expressions. “I’m kidding, guys. I still want to be here, like, a lot.” Alex looked relieved for a moment before responding.

“Well, if that’s so, maybe you should be more grateful to us.”

“Grateful-” Brandon spluttered, and this time it was Bill’s turn to dissolve into laughter.

The rest of the walk up to Alex’s apartment went the same way, the three of them taking turns teasing each other. Brandon felt like with each laugh, a little more of his nerves escaped into the air.

Once they made it inside, there was a lull as they all stopped to take off their shoes. Brandon put his down by the pile that obviously belonged to Alex, and looked up to see Alex and Bill just...looking at him. This was the last moment to back out, he thought, but he didn’t want to. And then Brandon noticed Alex looking at his lips and Brandon couldn’t think of anything other than that Alex wanted him back. He didn’t know how long he looked at Alex staring (and when had they gotten so close to each other?), but he felt a hand on the back of his head, firmly pushing him at Alex, and he realized Bill was literally trying to smush their faces together. They came together at an awkward angle, Brandon’s nose pushing up against Alex’s cheekbone and he could feel Alex quietly laughing against the side of his face. Brandon pulled back slightly as Alex cupped his face and leaned in to kiss him. He could feel Bill’s hand sliding down from the back of his head to his shoulder, and if he thought about it, Brandon would have guessed that Bill was watching them, but he was too preoccupied with the feel of Alex’s lips to put any attention toward it.

After a little longer (or maybe a lot longer, Brandon wasn’t solid on the details), they pulled apart, and Bill asked, “My turn?” He expected Bill to kiss Alex, but instead, he turned toward Brandon, tracing the line of his neck as he leaned in to press his lips to the corner of Brandon’s mouth. Brandon felt an arm sneaking around his back as he shifted slightly to kiss Bill full on, and he felt Alex pressed up against his side. Before he could lose track of what was happening entirely, Alex started pulling them both in the direction of the bedroom

“Come on, why are we still out here?” Alex nearly whined.

Bill turned away from Brandon to glare at Alex. “Because I was enjoying this!” Brandon laughed as the two started bickering again, and began shrugging out of his jacket. He had a feeling that waiting for the three of them to coordinate getting each other undressed might be a bit much to ask for, as they nearly tripped over the edge of the rug in the hallway.

By they time they made it into the bedroom, they had all gotten rid of their jackets somewhere along the way. Alex pulled Brandon down on top of him on the bed before Brandon had a chance to really look around, and Bill climbed down next to them. Brandon just laid there frozen for a minute, because he was laying on top of Alex, who was warm and solid and hard under him and honestly Brandon felt a bit like he was dreaming. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he looked down at Alex, who was gazing up at him with a surprisingly soft look on his face, and Brandon had to kiss him again. He was already starting to get addicted to it- Alex was responsive and kissed like he wanted to enjoy every second.

Bill reached down and started to pull up Brandon’s shirt, tugging on it to separate him from Alex for a second. Alex whined at first, but started dragging his hands up Brandon’s chest as Bill pulled the undershirt over Brandon’s head. As soon as it was gone, Brandon went right back to kissing Alex, seeing Bill undressing out of the corner of his eye. Brandon pulled away to press his lips to Alex’s neck, and he also rolled off of him a bit, knowing he was heavy to be putting his entire weight on someone else, even another hockey player.

As soon as Brandon freed up Alex’s mouth, Bill took advantage, leaning in to start making out with Alex. Brandon didn’t know whether to look at the easy, familiar way they were kissing or the warm line of Bill’s body. Brandon leaned up on one arm to wriggle out of his pants, and when he managed it, Bill leaned across Alex to run his hand up Brandon’s arm. He traced over his shoulder and then down his chest to flick at his nipple, which made Brandon shudder and lurch forward to aggressively start kissing Bill, who Brandon had started to realize kissed softer but firmer than Alex, with more of a purpose.

Alex made a whiny noise and Brandon leaned back again, steadying himself against Alex’s side as he and Bill looked at Alex.

“I feel left out,” Alex said shamelessly.

Brandon looked over at Bill. “Is he always like this?”

Bill raised his eyebrows, but smiled. “You’ve met him, of course he is. It’s very annoying, because he knows he can get away with it.”

Alex pouted louder. They looked at each other and, without talking, Bill grabbed at Alex’s shirt and Brandon reached for his pants and together, they got him stripped down to his underwear. Bill looked back and forth between Brandon and Alex for a second, before rearranging them so that Alex was leaning back against his chest. Brandon was still hovering over Alex’s thighs after taking his pants off, and he marveled at how easily Alex let himself be moved. Brandon considered blowing him, and judging by Alex's longing look, he could tell, but Brandon shook his head.

“Next time,” Brandon said, and reached for Alex’s cock, noticing Alex’s cut off moan and Bill’s shudder underneath him. He draped himself across Alex’s side and Bill’s leg to bite kisses into Alex’s neck thinking about how he would be able see it tomorrow, a tangible sign that this was real, that Brandon was really here, and stroked him slowly. Brandon could see Bill caressing Alex’s body, the places where it aligned with Brandon’s, and Bill slid his other hand into Brandon’s hair.

“He likes it faster, a little rougher,” Bill told him, so Brandon sped up. He tried to stay consistent, even through Alex’s hitched breathing and louder and louder noises. Alex clutched at the back of Brandon’s head, his fingers overlapping with Bill’s, and Brandon looked down the length of Alex’s body to see his other hand squeezing Bill’s leg as it bracketed his body.

As they all moved together, Brandon could feel himself getting close to coming, which he thought would be embarrassing if he weren’t literally living out a fantasy at the moment. Brandon sped up his hand on Alex’s cock just a bit more as he thrust against their tangled legs, his movements less steady than he had been managing. He could feel Bill moving behind Alex and it was overwhelming, that he got to be part of this, that he was doing this, that they were just as turned on by this as he was.

When Alex came with a shout a few moment later, Brandon pressed a kiss over the mark he’d sucked into Alex’s neck. Bill waited a split second, then pulled Brandon up with the hand still in his hair to kiss him messily. Alex had mostly gone limp, but he turned just a bit and it let Brandon rub against his hip, his movements frantic as he came as well. Bill kissed him through it. Alex slid even more out of Bill’s hold, and Bill started stroking his own cock, the kiss with Brandon having mostly turned into just breathing against each other. It took him a few seconds, but Brandon pulled himself together enough to put his hand over Bill’s, which was apparently enough to push Bill over the edge. He was quieter than Alex had been, but given the expression on his face afterwards, seemed equally satisfied.

They all lay in a vaguely sticky sweaty lump on the bed for a bit, before Alex got up to get a washcloth and wiped them all down. Brandon rolled over and smiled at him, getting a soft smile he’d never really seen before on Alex before falling asleep.

\----

Brandon woke up the next morning, warm and somewhat uncomfortable. Before he could get confused about why that was, he opened his eyes to see he was still tangled in between Alex and Bill. A smile spread across his face as he realized that not only had they had sex last night, and it was easily one of the top ten nights of his life, they had readjusted to curl on either side of him. Brandon had wondered about how the aftermath was going to go, but it seemed it had happened without him needing to do any awkward explaining after all. He knew they would need to talk about what they wanted to do in the future, but for the moment, he shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable and decided to enjoy the morning, whatever exactly it might bring.

**Author's Note:**

> and then That Caps Game happens and they all have a moment of ‘oh fuck did we mess up the team?’ before deciding no, that’s not how that works. and they all go home together again but this time to comfort each other. and they all live happily ever after so far.


End file.
